Cefais gyfle arbennig ar ddechrau’r flwyddyn academaidd i fynychu cwrs GOT i athrawon y ddinas / At the beginning of this academic year I had the opportunity to attend the GOT training day for teachers.Gwerthfawrogais y cyfle yn fawr a sylweddolais bwysigrwydd drosglwyddo’r neges i’r disgyblion/ This was a valuable experience and I saw that It’s message would benefit and educate pupils. We decided to introduce the project to our year 9 pupils (154) / Penderfynnon fel adran i gyflwyno’r prosiect i’n ddisgyblion ym mlwyddyn 9. Roedd y prosiect yn un llwyddiannus a wnaeth llwyddo i ennyn diddordeb a datblygu dealltwriaeth y disgyblion o’r grefydd Islam a chodi ymwybyddiaeth o Islamophobia /The project was successful in gaining the pupils interest and in developing their knowledge and understanding of Islam and in raising awareness of Islamaphobia.

Now over to some of our year 9 pupils to hear what they thought of the project:

I believe that the past few lessons have been vitally important to our education. I think that the younger generation like us need to be educated correctly about the Islamic religion because Islamophobia and racism towards Muslims needs to stop. The media has portrayed Muslims in such a negative way in the past 10 years that it’s turned thousands against the religion. But I’ve learned the truth about Islam and the truth is, most Muslims are good people, with no intention of hurting others. I think some of the people who are racist and Islamophobic lack knowledge and understanding of Islam and need to know the truth. Maybe if people knew more the world would be a better, safer place for Muslims worldwide.

I have really enjoyed and valued the past lessons on Islamophopia due to the fact that before these lessons I was slightly cautious of the Islamic religion. But now I have learnt that everyone in different and each individual should be treated with respect. I’ve learned so much so much, for example that terrorism isn’t proper Muslim. They believe that a community should not suffer from the bad that some people may cause. People say that children are the future, so why not pass on the knowledge that racism towards Muslims is terrible and wrong.

I think that it is very important to learn about Islamophia and the facts and the fiction about the Islamic religion. Before the lessons my opinions on Islam were heavily affected by the media. I now realise that a lot of what I thought has nothing to do with the Islamic religion and is only based on certain individuals who insist that they are Muslims. The reason that I thought these things was because of lack of knowledge and understanding. If I had never been taught these things, I would have gone through life with the wrong impression of Islam. I think it is very important for children to be taught these things for them to understand what is true Islam.

During the past lessons that we’ve learnt about the Islamic race and their religion our opinion and thoughts towards them have changed. Before starting this unit of work we believed that the act of terrorism was linked to all Muslims and those followers of the Islamic religion were to blame for events such as 9/11 and 7/7. Now that the unit has come to an end, we’ve realised that there is a big difference between a good Muslim and a bad Muslim; we now have a much better understanding of the Islamic religion. It is now vital that we pas on this information to the younger generations for them to understand respect and treat everyone equally.

Over the last few weeks I have learned and understood the Islamic religion. I have learnt that Islam is a caring and respectful religion with a belief in equality. Islam is a peaceful religion that has been portrayed badly by the media. Everyone should understand that not every Muslim is a terrorist, I believe the lessons have taught me to respect the religion and its beliefs. I have also learnt the differences between true Muslims and extremists and the importance of not assuming that all Muslims are the same

It’s important for our generation to learn about races and religion because it is important to help others understand and accept ourselves and others around us. We’ve learnt that everyone is equal no matter what nationality, sexuality or ethical background. People can make a difference by accepting others and keeping an open mind towards others. If these lessons continue to be taught in schools accepting others will become easier for the coming generations.

I am so thankful to our RE teacher for giving us the opportunity to learn about a religion that there is so much speculation about. My opinion has changed entirely over the past term and I now know the true meaning of being a Muslim. Learning about Islam has taught me that suicide bombers and terrorists are not Muslims but extremists. Islamophobia is a phobia that people have, People that suffer from Islamophobia have no knowledge and understanding of the religion. I would like to thank the department for teaching us pupils a valuable life lesson.

Gwyneth Brown

Crynhoi / Conclusion

As you have witnessed for yourselves this project has enabled pupils to appreciate and respect the values and beliefs of the Islamic faith. Prif nod Plasmawr yw sefydlu cymuned weithgar sy’n seiliedig ar barch, a honno’n gymuned Gymraeg ei hiaith a’i diwylliant, yn ddisgybledig ei hymarweddiad, yn eangfrydig ei gorwelion, yn dechnolegol o ran ei sgiliau ac yn gymuned sy’n rhoi gwerth cyfartal ar bob aelod ohoni. / Plasmawr’s main aims are to establish a hardworking community based on respect, and that community should be Welsh in its language and culture, disciplined in its demeanour, broad its horizons, technological in its skills and it should be a community which places equal value on each of its members. This project therefore reinforces our school aims and will be a project that our department will continue to teach

Vicki Pitman, Pennaeth Add Gref; Head of RE

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.